A chain of fatal failures

In 2011, Shane O’Farrell was killed by a driver with a string of previous convictions who shouldn’t have been at large that evening. Now his family are demanding answers from the state

Lucia O’Farrell, mother of Shane O’Farrell, who died in a hit-and-run outside Carrickmacross in August 2011 Pic: Fergal Phillips

Shane O’Farrell had just completed his studies in law and had submitted his Master’s thesis on August 2, 2011, the day his life was pointlessly cut short. It’s easy to see where he got the interest from. Almost seven years on, his mother Lucia holds up a large chart with a complex web detailing the many convictions of Žygimantas Gridziuška - the driver who knocked Shane off his bike in a hit-and-run as ...